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Circular water management – a simple, profitable investment
As summer approaches, Ecolab organised a roundtable in Paris in June to mark the second anniversary of the Water Plan and to highlight the solutions available to industries for better water management. I had the unique opportunity, alongside Esther Crauser-Delbourg, Water Economist, Alain Meyssonnier, President of the Mediterranean Water Institute (IME), and Nicolas Swetchine, PhD, Director for Strategic Partnerships at Michelin, to sit down with journalists to share and converse on these crucial issues, that the current emerging situation makes it even more timely to discuss.
From this discussion with these leading water experts, the most striking point – and a strong conviction I wish to share with you – is that sustainability and profitability can go hand in hand. And, while increasing water stress compels us to act to preserve this vital resource for populations, the planet, and our economies, this injunction is far from being a constraint. In fact, it represents so many opportunities for our industry. At a time when the academic and political worlds are sounding the alarm, we must rethink our approach.
Water is not a cost, it's an investment
By 2050, in France, ecosystems will be under stress for several consecutive months during dry springs and summers, with over 90% of basins experiencing stress in summer*, the High Commission for Strategy and Planning has just warned.
Only radical changes in water usage, as an extension of the Water Plan, will allow us to contain usage conflicts and limit water-related risks, which would have extremely severe consequences for industrial production. Globally, due to drought, the risk to industry from water amounts to $300 billion, according to our data.
We can drive these radical changes in industry by shifting our perspective: Industry is a major consumer of water, accounting for more than 50% of the EU’s total yearly abstraction. Water, which is used in several industrial processes, such as machine cooling, product manufacturing, or substance treatment, must no longer be perceived as waste, but as a resource – a finite, local, and shared one at that.
Its management is therefore not linear; it must be circular. And the key for our companies is to understand that when they save water, they improve their competitiveness.
Circular water management: reducing your water footprint means gaining competitiveness
Intelligent water management allows companies to produce more with less water. At Ecolab, we have seen first-hand how the industry can benefit from this: companies that have adopted a smart approach to water are seeing returns on investment, saving up to 20% on their water-related operational expenses. But the benefit doesn't stop there: the return on investment of circular water management is multiplied tenfold by the associated energy savings; indeed, reducing the volumes of water entering the various factory processes means proportionally reducing the energy needed to transport, cool, heat, and recycle it.
More reasoned water consumption pushes companies to optimise their production processes. This often leads to better overall efficiency and a reduction in losses throughout the production chain; existing technologies today can reduce industrial water consumption by up to 40%. We could save 1 trillion liters per year, equivalent to the consumption of 12% of the world's population. On a local scale, for a dairy client, our innovative Concentrated Dairy Matter Water Recycling programme has enabled the recycling of 195,000 m³ of water annually. This means we've avoided drawing 195,000 m³ of mains water, by recycling water from milk within the cleaning process.
Efforts to save water encourage the adoption of modern and innovative technologies, improving technical and environmental performance and maintaining market competitiveness: this is, on the one hand, a guarantee of investor adherence; on the other hand, a guarantee of consumer preference, as consumers expect brands to be committed and will place a much higher value on water-efficient products. Finally, it's a guarantee of recognition from local authorities, who will be more lenient with responsible and resilient companies on the issue of water.
Summer is just beginning, yet water scarcity is already a very real issue in many regions, and water usage restriction orders are multiplying. Inaction could very quickly incur a colossal cost, far exceeding that of taking action! So, start by assessing the true water-related risk, integrate it at the highest level into your risk management strategy, and shift your paradigm: sustainable water management must be seen more than ever as an investment to become more competitive and to ensure continued production in the future. Investing in water is definitely a profitable investment.
